By Jamie White – Head of Communications
Two famous record-breaking Bentleys, separated by 85 years, are the highlights of the company’s strong presence at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Both the Continental GT Speed, recently piloted into the record books by Luther and The Wire actor Idris Elba, and the celebrated 1930 Blue Train car will be at Goodwood between June 25th-28th entertaining motoring enthusiasts.
This year is the 85th anniversary of that most famous Bentley Boy adventure – the Blue Train race. The car that accomplished the feat will be at GFoS running up the world-renowned, 1.16-mile hillclimb, keeping the spirit of Captain Woolf Barnato alive.
In 1930 Barnato, then Chairman of Bentley Motors, was staying in Cannes when he accepted a wager that not only could he beat the Calais-Mediterranée Express (or ‘Blue Train’) back to Calais, but that he could be at his club in London before the train even reached the Channel. He was, and the remarkable victory has resonated with Bentley enthusiasts ever since.
Bringing the spirit and glamour of the Bentley Boys right up to date is the new Continental GT Speed, which broke the Flying Mile land speed record in May this year.
Actor Idris Elba, who played Nelson Mandela in the multi-award winning Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, drove the striking Spectre GT Speed at Pendine Sands in Wales, to break the historic ‘Flying Mile’ UK land speed record set by Sir Malcolm Campbell in 1927.
These two famous Bentleys will be joined on Goodwood’s iconic hillclimb by racing Bentleys past and present – from the iconic 1929 4 ½ Litre Blower, to the modern Continental GT3 racer and the road car it inspired, the Continental GT3-R.
Bentley will once again have two stands at Goodwood. On the main stand is the newest line-up of the brand’s luxury and performance models – with the latest Mulsanne, Flying Spur and Continental GT Grand Tourers all on display.
Mystery shopping and performance improvement company, Douglas Stafford, works with Bentley on a bespoke and tailored mystery shopping and customer experience programme to include video mystery shopping.
